A new study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies has found that 43 per cent of our children between the ages of 20 and 24 are still living in the family home.

The ranks of 25 to 29-year-olds still at home have also grown from 10 per cent in 1981 to 17 per cent in 2016.

The rising cost of living is a big factor in this, with young people in capital cities more likely to remain at home.

"It is harder to get your own place, whether that's renting or getting a mortgage," said social analyst Mark McCrindle.

"But also, they're investing more in their education - so they're on that learning conveyor belt a bit longer compared to their parents."

Men were more likely to still be living in the family home compared to women - with 47 per cent of 20 to 24-year-old men living with their parents in 2016, compared to 39 per cent of women in the same age group.

"It used to be men who left the family home, maybe for work reasons," McCrindle said.

"Women used to stay at home until they were married - but now it's the young women who are leading the way of being independent, even above young men in Australia."

Cultural backgrounds also influenced the likelihood of young people living at home for longer.

Among young adults born in Australia, those with Asian, Middle Eastern, African or Southern and Eastern European ancestry are more likely to live with their parents, compared to those with Australian, Northwestern European or New Zealand backgrounds.